by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Their first win under their belt, Kansas City Kansas Community College’s young women’s basketball team turned thoughts to an early season showdown Friday.
A 60-40 winner over Ottawa University’s JV Wednesday, the No. 10 ranked Lady Blue Devils will be host to No. 17 Des Moines Area Community College (DMAC) Friday at 6 p.m.
The Blue Devils (1-1) jumped in front 19-6 in the opening quarter against Ottawa and were never seriously challenged.
Sophomore Brie Tauai led the Lady Blue Devils with a career high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds; Brooklyn Wagler just missed a double double with 10 points and nine rebounds; and Aeriel Holiday had 12 points, all on three-pointers in a 4-for-7 effort. DaShundra Morgan and Whitney Hazlett added seven points each and Valencia Scott led in assists with five.
Defensively, the Blue Devils forced 28 turnovers, had a 39-35 edge in rebounds and held the Lady Braves to just 29.3 percent shooting. Offensively, they were guilty of 18 turnovers and shot just 33.3 percent from the field.
The win came just 24 hours after a 79-63 loss at North Central Missouri State.
“Anytime you can bounce back from a loss the very next night, it’s a great opportunity and I’m glad we took advantage of it,” KCKCC Joe McKinstry said. “I thought we did a better job of maintaining our effort defensively throughout all four quarters. Offensively, we were able to set some goals and handle a couple of situations that hopefully will help us to move forward.”